Peter Andre to replace Paul O'Grady

Peter Andre to replace Paul O'Grady

PETER Andre has been lined up to replace Paul O’Grady as Channel 4’s king of chat.

Published 7th February 2010

Peter Andre has been lined up to replace Paul O'Grady

The Untouchable singer impressed producers when he stood in for Paul, who quit the teatime slot in December.[>

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And now they’re convinced that Jordan’s cheery ex is just the man to keep pulling in the fans.[>

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A Channel 4 source said: “Andre was a real hit when he filled in for Paul on holiday.[>

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“He interacted well with the guests and had the audience in stitches with some of his jokes.[>

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“The bosses have been looking out for a replacement for some time, since Paul decided to call it a day.[>

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“They had a few people in mind but it was not until Pete came on that they made up their minds.[>

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“Everybody loves Pete because of his natural, easygoing charisma. When he was on last he even managed to chat up Alexandra Burke![>

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“Let’s just say having Pete at the helm would do the ratings no harm at all. The bosses are sure he would be a real success on the programme.”[>

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Standing in for The Paul O’Grady Show was not the first time Andre had impressed with his presenting skills.[>

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The Australian hunk, who was promoting his women’s perfume Unconditional in Manchester yesterday, has previously worked as a showbiz presenter on ITV’s This Morning.[>

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He has also been chosen to ­report from this year’s Brit Awards.[>

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If he is signed up to replace O’Grady on Channel 4, he is likely to be a gentler interviewer than Kay Burley, of Sky News, who reduced him to tears during a TV appearance last week.[>

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During a heated exchange with the singer, Burley pursued a line of brutal questioning about his children.[>

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She played him footage of Price’s former boyfriend, ­ex-footballer Dwight Yorke, who branded Andre “disrespectful” for wanting to adopt Harvey, ­Katie’s son by Yorke.[>

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After the clip of Dwight, who played no part in handicapped Harvey’s upbringing, Burley asked Andre how he would react if Katie’s new husband Alex made a similar claim on his own kids Junior, four, and Princess Tiaamii, two.[>

A pal of Peter’s told the Daily Star Sunday yesterday: “Kay Burley was completely out of order. She acted like a real bully.[>